Della Trumble, a spokesperson for the King Cove Corporation embraces Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke at Department of the Interior headquarters in Washington, D.C., on January 22, 2018. Photo: U.S. DOIEnvironment | Law | National | Politics

As part of the swap, Secretary Ryan Zinke agreed to trade up to 500 acres within the refuge to King Cove Native
Corp., an Alaska Native village corporation whose shareholders include residents of the village. The road would then be built on the traded land.

Department of the Interior
on YouTube: Restoring Trust
The village has been pushing for a road for decades in order for residents to get to the nearest all-weather airport. They say the project will save lives -- a total of 18 people have died in plane crashes or while waiting to be medevaced from King Cove since the creation of the refuge in 1980.

“It is unfortunate that the special interest groups continue to ignore the health and safety concerns of the residents of King Cove,” Della Trumble, a spokesperson for the village corporation, told The Daily News.